Mammut Spindrift Light 30

Stability
The thin, flexible hipbelt has 3-inch-long cutouts that shave weight while enhancing cupping around the front of the iliac crest. A V-shaped aluminum frame and dense EVA backpanel transfer loads to the hip shelf. “I loaded the pack with 25 pounds,” said one tester after a month-long ski-mountaineering trip to Chamonix. “It hugged me on every high step and crevasse crossing.”

Durability
The Spindrift showed only light scuffing on the front panel after more than 45 days of ski touring, including a three-day circumnavigation of Oregon’s Crater Lake where it handled a “heavy load and savage beating,” says our tester. The 100-denier Cordura packbag has a more durable 210-denier nylon reinforcement on the bottom; it routinely held 20-plus pounds of sharp ice-climbing gear. Ding: One sample suffered a broken compression-strap buckle.

Organization
The single-compartment, top-loading packbag includes a front pocket with dedicated probe and shovel slots. Velcro axe attachments hold tools securely, and the mouth yawns wide for loading bulky ropes and racks of hardware.

$180; 2 lbs. 8 oz.; 30 liters; 1 size; mammut.ch